The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Yes, abuse doesn't have to be physical to hurt the victim, but when you create a law that is so vague as this one, it is bound to create more problems.

Re: "insult" - please read the article. Nicole Kagan, the minister for family affairs who *introduced* the measure said "The judge could (also) take into consideration letters, SMSs or repetitive messages, because one knows that psychological violence is made up of insults" (emphasis mine)

There is a big difference between hate speech, verbal abuse, and insults. The point of the post isn't to trivialize those in abusive relationship (both men and women) but how do you prove "psychological violence?"

@Geoduck - actually, the unemployment in France remains at a stubborn 10% despite the 35-hour work week. The unemployment for young people is worse, at 20%. Presumably, it's because businesses loathe to hire new workers yet cannot fire the old ones.

Actually, DeRoest - there wasn't a United States, just 13 united States. A slight but significant distinction (it was 13 separate but united states that declared independence, not a country named "United States")